It seems that a recent Windows Update (KB3086255, September 2015) that's been pushed through for 7 and 8/8.1 is causing problems when trying to run older games in the series. This is because the update disables the service for the secdrv.sys driver, due to potential security risks. The problem is, any disc-based games that utilise certain types of anti-piracy copy protection (eg SecuRom, SafeDisc) will no longer run, and will display an error asking the user to "Please login with administrator privileges and try again":

A list of problematic games has been posted here. The affected games relevant to our community are:

NBA Live 2004 (not listed there, but I can confirm that it suffers from the same issue)

NBA Live 2003

NBA Live 2001

NBA Live 2000

Fortunately, there are a couple of workarounds.

1. Run those games in a virtual machine, using Windows 98/2000/XP

If you've got an old disc for Windows 98, 2000, or XP lying around, you can use WMWare to set up a virtual machine. Generally speaking, this is a good way of getting older Windows based games to work, though it does require a bit of computer know-how (and a legal copy of Windows). I'd definitely recommend setting this up if you have the know-how (or have a friend/family member that does) and enjoy retro gaming.

2. Reactivate the secdrv.sys service

This one also requires a little know-how, but it's a lot quicker to do than setting up a virtual machine. If you're not that savvy with computers though, I'd recommend getting someone who is to do it for you. The steps are outlined here on Microsoft Support: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3086255

Use the sc config secdrv start= demand and sc config secdrv start= disabled commands, for an easy on/off toggle. To run an elevated command prompt, type CMD in the Search bar, right click the CMD program that it finds, and Run as administrator.

Note that there's also a potential security risk here (the update disabled the secdrv.sys driver for a reason, after all), so do this at your own risk! If you're unsure of how to run these commands yourself, try these batch files that automate the process. Please note that I take no responsibility for any damage that may be caused by using this method. If in doubt, look into setting up a virtual machine.

A note about cracks/No-CD patches

To pre-empt another suggestion that may be thrown out there: discussing cracks/No-CD patches is strictly against the rules in the NLSC Forum, and we won't provide any help or support for them. Please consider this fair warning of our zero tolerance policy regarding those discussions; barring the discovery of another legitimate workaround, the two solutions posted above are the only ones that may be discussed here.